Lutheran Services in America Calls on Congress to Protect Medicaid

Congressional Budget Office Confirms that the American Health Care Act will Strip Medicaid Coverage from 14 million Americans by 2026

WASHINGTON – Lutheran Services in America President and CEO Charlotte Haberaecker issued the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate on the House-passed American Health Care Act:

“The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the version of the American Health Care Act passed by the House of Representatives will cut federal Medicaid spending by $834 billion over ten years with 14 million Americans losing the care that Medicaid provides them.

"Two-thirds of seniors in nursing homes, 39 percent of American children and over ten million people with disabilities rely on Medicaid. The changes to the Medicaid program proposed in the American Health Care Act put our nation's most vulnerable people at risk.

“We urge Senators to reject the American Health Care Act and any proposals that would reduce or eliminate Medicaid benefits for seniors, children and people with disabilities.”

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Lutheran Services in America is the national network of Lutheran social ministry organizations—connecting over 300 health and human services nonprofit service providers located throughout the country. With over $21 billion in annual revenue and over 250,000 employees, Lutheran Services in America is one of largest nonprofit organizations in the United States. Together the network lifts up the nation’s most vulnerable people from children to seniors—making a difference in the lives of one in 50 Americans every year.